The hits keep on coming for Johnny Football. Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel, the Texas A&M freshman quarterback who led the Aggies to an 11-2 season and an upset victory against national champion Alabama, has been named the Manning Award winner, presented by the Allstate Sugar Bowl.

Manziel was named the Manning winner while in Connecticut for the Walter Camp Award ceremony. He said he considers the Manning Award to be among the highlights of his 2012 trophy haul.

The Manning Award, in its ninth year, was created by the Sugar Bowl to honor the college football accomplishments of Archie, Peyton and Eli Manning. Manziel is the first freshman and first unanimous selection to be selected.

“It’s something, you look at what the Mannings have done in football and all that they’ve accomplished over the years and it really sticks out,’’ Manziel said. “It’s a ‘Wow’ factor. This award is something incredibly high up on my totem poll and something I’ll definitely cherish for a long time.’’

In addition to the award, Manziel picked up an invitation to be a camp counselor at the Manning Passing Academy next summer.

“I can absolutely assure you we want to have Johnny Manziel as a counselor at the Manning Passing Academy,’’ Archie Manning said. “As a matter of fact, I saw his coach (Texas A&M Coach Kevin Sumlin), who is a good friend. He stopped me in New York and said we want Johnny at the Manning Passing Academy this summer and I said, ‘He’s there.’

“It’s incredible what he’s done. There wasn’t any doubt (about how good he was) and he followed that up with another great game in the Cotton Bowl.’’

Manziel’s bowl game performance figured into his winning the Manning Award. It is the only collegiate quarterback award that takes into account what a player does in a bowl game.

"Johnny Manziel is everything he was billed to be, expected him to be," Oklahoma Coach Bob Stoops said after the game.

Manziel, who became the first freshman to win the Heisman, had an impressive season. He passed for 3,706 yards and 26 touchdowns as he completed 295 of 434 passes with nine interceptions. He also rushed for 1,410 yards and 21 touchdowns, averaging 7.0 yards per carry.

His most notable regular season performance came when he led the Aggies to a 29-24 victory against Alabama, the Crimson Tide’s only loss of the season. He completed 24 of 31 passes for 253 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. He rushed for 92 yards on 18 carries.

"The Allstate Sugar Bowl is honored to have the opportunity to recognize Johnny Manziel with this year's Manning Award," said Paul Hoolahan, the chief executive officer of the Allstate Sugar Bowl. "He jumped onto the national scene right from the start and then he capped things off with a truly remarkable bowl game performance. He proved himself all year and is very deserving to be our first unanimous selection for the honor."

The Aggies two losses this season came against Florida, Texas A&M and Manziel’s first game of the year, and LSU, which intercepted Manziel three times and held him to a season-low 27 yards rushing. Manziel said he was impressed with the defenses of Florida, Alabama and LSU but said the Tigers’ speed stuck out.

“That’s what kind of trumped us in that game,’’ Manziel said. “They were extremely fast, just flying around to the ball. They did some things that kind of mixed it up. And they had good pressure off the edge with Sam Montgomery and (Keke) Mingo. You have that speed and pass rushers like that, they’re really a dangerous team.’’